PARADISE — No matter how many 3-pointers the Paradise High girls basketball team hits — and the Bobcats drilled a lot over the course of the season — the players seem to prefer the other end of the floor.

“Offense comes and goes but defense, we always have control of that,” Paradise junior guard Whitney Hanson said.

Well, the Paradise fans got to see an abundance of defense on Tuesday night, as the Bobcats forced 23 Shasta turnovers, including at least six in each of the first three quarters to grab control of the game early and go on to a seemingly easy 56-39 victory over the Wolves in an Eastern Athletic League North-South cross-divisional battle on the ridge.

“I think we played really (good) defense together and never gave up,” Hanson said.

Paradise”s offense played a huge role as well, especially the baskets coming off of Hanson”s right hand. The 5-foot-6 combination guard swished all three of her 3-point attempts for a game-high 15 points for the Bobcats (14-10, 7-5 EAL South). All of Hanson”s perimeter jump shots came in the latter half of the third quarter when she single-handedly led Paradise on a 9-0 run to extend a 10-point lead to 17 and go into the fourth quarter in front of Shasta (11-13, 4-8 EAL North), 45-28.

Hanson was quick to deflect her impact in the third quarter.

“We share the ball a lot and that”s one of the big (reasons) why we get open 3s,” Hanson said. “We”re learning how to play well as a young team.”

Darian Horner is Paradise”s only senior on the roster. While the 5-foot-8 forward, who came into Tuesday”s game as the sixth-leading 3-point shooter in the Northern Section, was a bit off with her shot against Shasta, Horner found other ways to contribute — namely a pair of steals in the first half to help Paradise build its first massive run of the game.

With the Bobcats clinging to a 14-13 advantage following a 3-pointer from Shasta guard Lauren Crosby, Horner forced a Shasta turnover and banged home two of her four points.

It was a play that seemed to spark Paradise and drown Shasta, as the Bobcats outscored the Wolves by 11 points in the final 5-plus minutes of the second quarter to turn what was a one-point lead at one point in the period into a 28-18 halftime advantage.

Shasta committed four of its 13 first-half turnovers during that run.

“Turnovers, that”s been killing us this season,” said sophomore co-captain Emmi Petersen, who led the Wolves with nine points. “We have to be smart with the ball.”

Paradise, led by Mary Hansen, who came in 14th in steals in the section, maintained its defensive pressure in the second half and stayed in front of the Wolves most of the way.

Paradise now turns its attention to the EAL North”s champion team, Pleasant Valley, on Thursday.